Rack for containers

ABSTRACT

A rack for securing containers includes a plurality of bays into which one or more containers are received. The rack includes an upper section and a lower section defining a bay therebetween. The bay has a concave support surface for supporting an object. A plurality of columns connect the upper section to the lower section. The upper section and the lower section each include a plurality of complementary interlocking members aligned with the plurality of columns, such that the interlocking members on the upper section would interlock with the interlocking members on the lower section of a similar rack stacked thereon. Each bay may include a resilient member, such as an expandable clamp or a resilient bumper.

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 60/828,201, filed Oct. 4, 2006 and U.S. provisional Application Ser.No. 60/913,283, filed Apr. 22, 2007.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a rack for holding objectsand more particularly to a rack for holding water bottles.

A typical home delivery system for 3 and 5-gallon bottles of drinkingwater involves a delivery truck, racks, bottles and a driver. Thedelivery truck is usually configured with several bays on each side witheach bay having a rollup door to enclose the product. Inside each bayone or more racks are stored filled with bottles. The racks aretypically loaded and unloaded with bottles outside the bays. Fork trucksare used to move the racks in and out of the bays.

The racks have traditionally been made from metal and more recently fromplastic. The plastic racks tend to be modular in design with eachcomponent making up a layer of the rack. The layer can hold four bottlesin a two by two arrangement or eight bottles in a four wide by two deeparrangement. A two deep arrangement is for 5-gallon bottles whereas3-gallon bottles will be three deep in the same space. The plasticcomponents can sit on top of an existing pallet for transport or canincorporate runners or blocks into the bottom layer to eliminate theneed for a pallet. In either case pallet trucks and jacks are the meansfor moving the racks. The modular design allows the distributor to stackthem to any height but usually three to five layers high. At five layersthe rack can hold up to forty 5-gallon bottles. Plastic racks havegained acceptance because they have proven to be more durable and themodular design allows for easy repair.

Leaking containers are a problem within the existing system. Testing hasshown that the bouncing up and down of the bottles in the racks is asignificant cause of leaking containers. Whenever the truck is movingthe rack and bottles experience vibration and therefore relativemovement. The movement at the contact points in combination with otherenvironmental factors such as dirt and dust eventually weakens thebottle resulting in a hole or crack. Testing has shown that the softerplastic racks can reduce this, but a push toward lighter and thinnerbottles to reduce costs has made the problem significantly worse inrecent years.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a rack for holding objects, such ascontainers, and more particularly water bottles.

The rack includes a plurality of bays into which one or more containersare received. Each layer of the rack includes an upper section and alower section defining a bay therebetween. The bay has a concave supportsurface for supporting an object. A plurality of columns connect theupper section to the lower section. The upper section and the lowersection each include a plurality of complementary interlocking membersaligned with the plurality of columns, such that the interlockingmembers on the upper section would interlock with the interlockingmembers on the lower section of a similar rack stacked thereon. Theinterlocking members improve the stability and stacking of layers of therack. Each bay may include a resilient member, such as an expandableclamp or a resilient bumper.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated asthe same becomes better understood by reference to the followingdetailed description when considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a rack according to one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the rack of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2A is a front view of one of the bays of the rack of FIG. 1,partially broken away.

FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of the layer of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a bottom perspective view of the layer of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the rack of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5A is a front view of the rack similar to FIG. 5, with a bottle inone of the bays and with an expandable member expanded.

FIG. 6 is a rear view of the rack of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the rack of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the rack of FIG. 1 with a second layerstacked thereon.

FIG. 9 is a front view of the rack of FIG. 8

FIG. 10 illustrates the rack of FIG. 1 with the pneumatic connectionsand expandable members for additional layers.

FIG. 11 is a schematic showing one possible implementation of the rackof FIG. 8 in a vehicle.

FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of a second embodiment of therack of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the bumperof FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 illustrates the bumper of FIG. 13 installed in the rack of FIG.1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a rack 10 according to one embodiment ofthe present invention. The rack 10 includes a first layer 12 (or first“shelf”) supported on a plurality of supports 14. The first layer 12defines a plurality of generally cylindrical bays 16. A pair of fivegallon water bottles (not shown) can be received within each bay 16. Thefirst layer 12 includes an upper section 22 and a lower section 24. Thelower section 24 includes a partial divider 26 between each adjacentpair of bays 16.

The upper section 22 has a plurality (in this example, nine) of columnportions 36, each having a support pad 38 thereon. In this example, thesupport pads 38 are tapered blocks snap fit to the top of the columnportions 36. The support pads 38 ensure alignment of another layerstacked thereon, although the actual weight is transferred directly tothe column portions 36, not on the support pads 38. The outer ones ofthe column portions 36 including a plurality of vertical ribs 37extending outwardly from a curved inner wall 41.

The lower section 24 has a plurality of column portions 44. The outerones of the column potions 44 include vertical ribs 45 extendingoutwardly from a curved inner wall 47. The upper section 22 alsoincludes a plurality of alignment sleeves 39, in this example, fouralignment sleeves 39 adjacent the corner support pads 38.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the rack 10 of FIG. 1. The support pads 38can be separately molded pieces, as shown, that can be snap fit onto theupper section 22. An expandable, inflatable clamping chamber 30 ismounted to the upper section 22 adjacent each bay 16. The expandablechambers 30 are elongated, flexible pneumatic bladders or seals thatextend from the front of the rack 10 to the rear of the rack 10 andcurve back to the front of the rack 10 adjacent the adjacent bay 16. Theexpandable chambers 30 each include a flange 33 spaced from an integralexpandable tubular portion 34.

Retainers 31 each include a pair of fingers 32 for locking between theflange 33 and the tubular portion 34 of the expandable chambers 30 toretain the expandable chambers 30 to the upper section 22, as shown inFIG. 2A. The upper section 22 also includes a plurality of fingers 35that protrude between the flange 33 and the tubular portion 34 of theexpandable chamber 30 to retain it to the upper section 22. Forinstallation, the expandable chamber 30 is first routed on the uppersection 22, fitting the flange 33 of the expandable chamber 30 behindthe fingers 35. The retainers 31 are then installed, first fitting thefingers in front of the flange 33 and then snap fitting the retainers 31to the upper section 22. If the expandable chamber 30 ever needs to bereplaced, the retainers 31 can be removed to remove the expandablechamber 30.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are top and bottom perspective views of the layer 12,respectively. The lower section 24 includes a plurality of alignmentrecesses 78 aligned with the support pads 38 on the upper section 22 anda plurality of alignment sleeves 76 aligned with the alignment sleeves39 on the upper section 22.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the rack 10 of FIG. 1. A partial rear wall 82prevents bottles from sliding out the back of the bays 16. The supportsurfaces 84, which are the perimeter around the support pads 38, arerecessed relative to the uppermost surface of the upper section 22. Thelowermost surfaces of the walls around the alignment recesses 78protrude downwardly below a lowermost surface of the lower section 24.

FIG. 5A illustrates the rack 10 of FIG. 5 with a container, in thisexample a water bottle 20, in one of the bays 16. In FIG. 5, theexpandable chamber 30 is inflated such that the expandable chamber 30resiliently clamps the bottle 20 between the expandable chamber 30 andthe lower surface of the bay 16.

FIG. 6 is a rear view and FIG. 7 is a side view of the rack of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate a rack 10′ including the rack 10 of FIG. 1 witha similar second layer 12′ stacked thereon. When stacked, the supportpads 38 of the lower rack 12 are received in the recesses 78′ of theupper rack 12′, and the alignment sleeves 76′ on the upper rack 12′ arereceived in the alignment sleeves 39 of the lower rack 12 (FIGS. 3 and4). In this manner, the support pads 38 and recesses 78′ arecomplementary interlocking members, as are the alignment sleeves 39,76′. Additionally, the support surfaces 84 of the lower rack 12 contactand support the walls around the alignment recesses 78′ below theuppermost surface of the lower rack 12, which further interlocks the twostacked racks 12, 12′. All of the weight transfer is through the columnportions 36, 44, 36′, 44′, not through the alignment sleeves 39, 76′ andnot between the bays 16, 16′.

FIG. 10 is a schematic side view of a rack 10 of several layers 12containing bottles 20 installed in a truck 64. FIG. 10 alsoschematically shows a pump 60 (or compressor), a pressurized tank 61, avalve 62 and a sensor 63 for actuating the rack 10. The sensor 63 isinstalled adjacent the door 66 of the truck 64. The pump 60 maintainspressure in the tank 61 within a set range in a known manner. The sensor63 controls the valve 62 (such as a three-way valve) based upon whetherthe door 66 is opened or closed. The valve 62 vents pressure from therack 10 when the door 66 is opened and then pressurizes the rack 10 withpressure from the tank 61 when the door 66 is closed. The tank 61 isconnected to the rack 10 via conduits 72 each having a quick disconnect68 formed thereon for connection to a complementary coupling 70 on therack 10. Note that a single roll-up door 66 is shown, but one or moreswinging doors 66 could also be used.

In operation, the user loads the bottles 20 into the rack 10 on thetruck 64 and then closes the door 66. Upon detecting that the door 66 isclosed, the sensor 63 activates the pump 60 which supplies pressure tothe expandable chambers 30 as shown in FIG. 5A. This locks the bottles20 in place in the bays 16 in the rack 10, preventing vibration, damageand movement of the bottles 20 during shipment. When the door 66 isopen, the sensor 63 detects the opening of the door 66 and causes thepump 60 to release the air pressure in the expandable chambers 30 whichreturn to the unexpanded. The bottles 20 can then be removed from thebays 16 for delivery. Empty bottles 20 can also be loaded on the rack10. When the door 66 is closed again, the expandable chambers 30 areagain inflated. Thus, the system is automated and requires no userinteraction.

As a first alternative, the pump 60 could be eliminated. For localdelivery trucks, it is possible to store sufficient pressure in the tank61 for at least one delivery route. The tank 61 would be repressurizedwhen the truck 64 returns to the distribution center to return the emptybottles 20 and pick up more full bottles 20.

As a second alternative, the pump 60, tank 61 and valve 62 could all beeliminated from the truck 64, if the truck 64 is transporting thebottles 20 from a warehouse to a distribution center, or for some otherreason, no bottles 20 will be removed from the racks 10 duringtransportation. In this situation, the racks 10 can be pressurized atthe warehouse before being loaded on the truck 64. The pressurized racks10 remain pressurized without any additional outside source of pressureto protect the bottles 20 during shipment and during loading/unloadingat the warehouse and distribution center.

The valve 62 could also be activated based upon a gear/parking brakesensor 65 (or other vehicle operating state) that activates the valve 62based upon the truck 64 being shifted into and out of a parking gear orbased upon the application/release of a parking brake. Therefore, evenif the driver forgets to close the door 66, the racks 10 will bepressurized and the bottles 20 will be locked in place when the parkingbrake is released and/or when the truck 64 is shifted into gear.Alternatively, a motion or speed sensor could pressurize the racks 10whenever motion of the vehicle 64 is sensed.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the rack of FIG. 1 with a pneumaticsystem for connecting additional layers (not shown), as oneimplementation of the schematically shown system of FIG. 10. Thepneumatic system includes a conduit 87 supplying a plurality of branches86, which in turn each supply a pair of expandable chambers 30 in eachlayer.

FIG. 12 is an exploded view of a rack 110 according to a secondembodiment of the present invention. All components are the same as thefirst embodiment rack 10 except that the expandable chambers 30 arereplaced with resilient bumpers 130. The resilient bumpers 130 in theFIG. 12 embodiment are actually the same expandable chambers 30 used inFIGS. 1-11, but are not connected to any pneumatics and may be sectioned(instead of continuous). Even without being inflated to clamp thebottles, the resilient bumpers 130 provide some cushioning and dampingof movement and vibration of the bottles in the bays 16.

FIG. 13 illustrates a section of an alternate resilient bumper 230 thatcould be used in the rack 110 of FIG. 12. The resilient bumper 230includes a pair of flanges 233, 234 integral with and connected by acentral body portion 235 to form an I-beam cross section. The resilientbumper 230 shown is symmetrical, such that either could be connected tothe upper section 22 of the rack 110 (FIG. 12) and either could face thebay 16; however, non-symmetrical flanges 233, 234 could also be used.

FIG. 14 illustrates the bumper 230 of FIG. 13 installed in the rack ofFIG. 1. The fingers 35, 32 are disposed between the flange 233 and theflange 234. The bumper 230 protrudes into the bay 16 at least partiallyso that it will be spaced very close to the bottles 20 in order tocushion the bottles 20 and damp the movement of the bottles 20 duringvibration or bumps during transportation. In the example shown, lessthan the thickness of the flange 234 protrudes into the bay 16, but thiscan be varied depending upon the dimensions and tolerances of aparticular design.

Although the invention is particularly useful for water bottles 20,other containers and other objects could be secured in a rack in asimilar fashion using the invention described above. Also, theexpandable chambers 30 and resilient bumpers 130, 230 could be directedupwardly, downwardly, horizontally or diagonally against one or morerows of bottles. The upper and lower sections 22, 24 and layers 12 couldbe molded as one piece, multiple pieces and could optionally snaptogether.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes andjurisprudence, exemplary configurations described above are consideredto represent a preferred embodiment of the invention. However, it shouldbe noted that the invention can be practiced otherwise than asspecifically illustrated and described without departing from its spiritor scope.

1. A rack layer comprising: an upper section and a lower sectiondefining a bay therebetween, the bay having a concave support surfacefor supporting an object; a plurality of columns connecting the uppersection to the lower section; and the upper section and the lowersection each including a plurality of complementary interlocking membersaligned with the plurality of columns, such that the interlockingmembers on the upper section would interlock with the interlockingmembers on the lower section of a similar rack layer stacked thereon. 2.The rack layer of claim 1 further including a resilient member adjacentthe bay for contacting the object supported therein.
 3. The rack layerof claim 2 wherein the resilient member is an inflatable clamp adjacentthe bay for selectively locking the object in the bay.
 4. The rack layerof claim 2 wherein the resilient member has an I-beam cross-section. 5.The rack layer of claim 2 wherein the resilient member is retained by aclip removably secured to the rack.
 6. The rack layer of claim 1 whereinthe interlocking members of the upper section each have a peripheralsupport surface configured to contact a peripheral support surface ofthe interlocking members of the lower section of the similar rack layerstacked thereon.
 7. The rack layer of claim 6 wherein the upper sectionincludes a plurality of upper ribs extending upwardly, and wherein thesupport surfaces of the upper section are disposed below the pluralityof upper ribs.
 8. The rack layer of claim 7 wherein the lower sectionincludes a plurality of lower ribs extending downwardly, and wherein thesupport surfaces of the lower section are disposed below the pluralityof lower ribs.
 9. The rack layer of claim 1 wherein the plurality ofcolumns includes a plurality of outer columns, each having a curvedinner wall and a plurality of ribs extending outwardly therefrom. 10.The rack layer of claim 1 further including complementary alignmentsleeves formed on the upper section and the lower section.
 11. The racklayer of claim 10 wherein the alignment sleeves do not transfer weightbetween stacked rack layers.
 12. The rack layer of claim 1 wherein theupper section and the lower section are formed separately and connectedto one another.
 13. A rack layer comprising: an upper section and alower section defining a bay therebetween, the bay having a concavesupport surface for supporting an object; a plurality of columnsconnecting the upper section to the lower section; and a resilientmember connected to one of the upper section and the lower section andextending into the bay.
 14. The rack layer of claim 13 wherein theresilient member has an I-beam cross section.
 15. The rack layer ofclaim 13 further including a removable clip securing the resilientmember to the upper section or the lower section.
 16. The rack layer ofclaim 13 wherein the resilient member has a flange portion and a bodyportion, at least one finger on the upper section or the lower sectiondisposed between the flange portion and the body portion to retain theresilient member.
 17. The rack layer of claim 16 further including aremovable clip having a finger disposed between the flange portion andthe body portion to retain the resilient member.
 18. A rack comprising:an upper layer and a lower layer, each having an upper section and alower section connected by a plurality of columns and at least one baydefined therein, each bay having a concave support surface forsupporting an object; and the upper section of the lower layer and thelower section of the upper layer each including a plurality ofcomplementary support surfaces aligned with the plurality of columns,such that the support surfaces on the upper section of the lower layersupport at least substantially all weight of the upper layer.
 19. Therack layer of claim 18 wherein the upper section of the lower layerincludes a plurality of upper ribs extending upwardly, and wherein thesupport surfaces of the upper section of the lower layer are disposedbelow the plurality of upper ribs.
 20. The rack layer of claim 19wherein the lower section of the upper layer includes a plurality oflower ribs extending downwardly, and wherein the support surfaces of thelower section of the upper layer are disposed below the plurality oflower ribs.
 21. The rack layer of claim 18 wherein the upper section andthe lower section of each layer are formed separately and connected toone another.